NASA’s Webb Telescope Examines TRAPPIST-1 System As Researchers Hope for Signs of Life

December 28, 2022, 1:00am

UNSPECIFIED: In this NASA digital illustration handout released on February 22, 2017, an artist's concept allows us to imagine what it would be like to stand on the surface of the exoplanet TRAPPIST-1f, located in the TRAPPIST-1 system in the constellation Aquarius. Because this planet is thought to be tidally locked to its star, meaning the same face of the planet is always pointed at the star, there would be a region called the terminator that perpetually divides day and night. If the night side is icy, the day side might give way to liquid water in the area where sufficient starlight hits the surface. One of the unusual features of TRAPPIST-1 planets is how close they are to each other — so close that other planets could be visible in the sky from the surface of each one. In this view, the planets in the sky correspond to TRAPPIST1e (top left crescent), d (middle crescent) and c (bright dot to the lower right of the crescents). TRAPPIST-1e would appear about the same size as the moon and TRAPPIST1-c is on the far side of the star. The star itself, an ultra-cool dwarf, would appear about three times larger than our own sun does in Earth's skies. The system has been revealed through observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope as well as other ground-based observatories, and the ground-based TRAPPIST telescope for which it was named after. (Photo digital Illustration by NASA/NASA via Getty Images)

As the James Webb Space Telescope begins to wrap up its first year in action, the space-bound observatory is now turning its attention to the TRAPPIST-1 system in hopes of finding out more about the peculiar group of planets. Located in the constellation Aquarius, all seven planets in the system either reside in or near the TRAPPIST-1 habitable zone, meaning scientists think the planets could have liquid water and, in turn, sustain life.

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Furthermore, the TRAPPIST-1 system is located just 39 light-years away from Earth, making the system even more interesting to those in the everlasting quest to find extraterrestrial life.

Since data is continuing to pour in from Webb’s observations, scientists aren’t quite ready to reveal exact findings just yet. Still, researchers hope to paint a “family portrait” of the TRAPPIST-1 star and its seven planets within the next year.

“We know the TRAPPIST-1 planets are made of stuff just like Earth, so they might have Earth-like atmospheres,” Cornell scientist Nikole K. Lewis said in a recent interview with Space.com.

Lewis was part of a team that used the Hubble Space Telescope to observe the system in 2018, though they were unable to obtain any data in regards to the potential atmospheres the planets may have. “We didn’t see any signal of atmospheres, but we know that they don’t have big fluffy hydrogen and helium-rich atmospheres that you might expect,” Lewis added.

Fortunately for those involved, the Webb Space Telescope features cutting-edge technology that will allow scientists to look at the system like never before. “The TRAPPIST system has long been on the JWST plan, and because we’ve known about it for six years we were able to really make sure that we were observing it to the best of JWST’s abilities,” she continued.

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